Watermelonski was born in Croatia and that’s where some
of our Watermelonski gals live and play today but growing up here and spending
summers on the beautiful seaside; that was something special! I remember how, when I was a little girl
piling into our camper with the whole family (plus both grandmothers), I would be
buzzing with excitement at the thought of dipping my toes into the clear cool
sea, betting my sister that I would jump in first, and feeling as free as a little
jungle birdie.
School’s out! Let the summer begin!
Mid June and the last day of school meant two more days
(and that was two long days too many) and we head for the sea where the kids
would spend the entire summer with the Grandmas. That’s kind of the way we do it here in
Croatia. Grandparents often take care of
the kids for the whole summer while the parents work. And let me be clear, when
I say “take care of” I mean feed, slather, dunk, repeat. This
practice (and it is still going on today) is, I am absolutely sure, the reason
Croatians hold summer vacation so near and dear. Nothing messes with the Croatian vacation!
Time Machine back to 1985
Ah, the good ol’ days! I was 11, my sister was 10, my
little brother was 4 and both grandmas were, well… grandma age. I don’t know how long we drove I think it was about
a hundred and fifty or so “are-we-there-yets” but I do remember rolling up on
the campsite and all of us cramming our faces up in the window to see the
beautiful sea and call dibs on the perfect spot for our tents. My father set up the camper and the tents in
just the right places. Our outdoor kitchen
and dining table were all arranged with everything necessary to enjoy our new
summer “home” without missing a beat.
Of course, there were no mobile phones, tablets or wifi way
back then but still, even without the discovery of the selfie, we kids managed
to make friends easily and enjoy every drop of sun we could.
Every day was pretty much the same but somehow never
boring. Jump out of bed ready for the
day. Eat, probably palacinke (basically,
crepes) with Nutella or jam, bread, salami, eggs and who knows probably a
pickle too. There was always too much
food as that was the first step in the feed, slather, dunk, repeat ritual. On to step two, grandma would slather us up
with sun cream. Oddly enough, I seem to
recall both grandmas using pig’s grease as a tanning cream (they must have read
that somewhere) and that they, and every single chair was always real shiny and
real slippery. Anyway, on to step three,
run to the beach and dive in, followed of course just a few hours later with… repeat.
The night life for a kid on vacation is always memorable!
We would gather at someone’s campsite, make our own palacinke (It was way more
fun that way. More messy too!), tell jokes, and laugh out loud. We would stay up til the lights went
out. Literally, until grandma would
unplug the lights signaling it was party over until tomorrow.
Those are the kinds of memories that shape all of us; that
teach us what’s important in life, and remind us what it’s all about: family, friends, love, laughs and palacinke. That’s what Watermelonski is built on and
inspired by.
Love,
Watermelonski gals
P. S. Check out our Etsy shop, or Facebook, or Pinterest :)
